"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" tells the story of a young girl named, Francie, who faces many hardships and struggles while growing up. This coming of age novel describes her daily routines and her most personal feelings of life, family, and love. Francie Nolan is born to young parents, Katie and John Nolan, on December 15, 1901. Her parents struggle to support the family but work as a part-time singing waiter and a janitress.
Francie is rather content with her life in the beginning of the book. Although living in a poor family moving from house to house, she has the determination and strength to do anything in life. She escapes some of her troubles by reading. She is fascinated by books and she reads at the library and at home everyday. "Before they went to bed, Francie and Neeley had to read a page of the Bible and a page from Shakespeare. That was a rule. Mama used to read the two pages to them each night until they were old enough to read for themselves. To save time, Neeley read the Bible page and Francie read from Shakespeare." Another thing she finds comfort in is the tree growing outside of the apartment building. "She was made up of all of these good and these bad things...She was the books she read in the library...Part of her life was made from the tree growing rankly in the yard. She was the bitter quarrels she had with her brother whom she loved dearly. She was Katie's secret, despairing weeping. She was the shame of her father staggering home drunk...She was all of these things and of something more...It was something that had been born into her and her only."
After her father's death, Francie and her family's life drastically changes. Francie is forced to quit school and get a job so she can support the family. Her mother does this only because she knows Francie will find a way to go back to school. She is forced to grow up quickly but she does find a way to attend the University of Michigan. She quickly becomes a capable intelligent young woman. During this time she also suffers a broken heart and helps support her mom and the new baby. At the end of the book she looks out a window and sees a girl and a tree growing in the yard. It is a reflection of her life and she sees how strong she has become and that she can do anything. "A new tree had grown from the stump and its trunk had grown along the ground until it reached a place where there were no wash lines above it. Then it had started to grow towards the sky again. Annie, the fir tree, that the Nolans had cherished with waterings and manurings, had long since sickened and died. But this tree in the yard - this tree that men chopped down...this tree that they built a bonfire around, trying to burn up its stump - this tree had lived!"
Francie is rather content with her life in the beginning of the book. Although living in a poor family moving from house to house, she has the determination and strength to do anything in life. She escapes some of her troubles by reading. She is fascinated by books and she reads at the library and at home everyday. "Before they went to bed, Francie and Neeley had to read a page of the Bible and a page from Shakespeare. That was a rule. Mama used to read the two pages to them each night until they were old enough to read for themselves. To save time, Neeley read the Bible page and Francie read from Shakespeare." Another thing she finds comfort in is the tree growing outside of the apartment building. "She was made up of all of these good and these bad things...She was the books she read in the library...Part of her life was made from the tree growing rankly in the yard. She was the bitter quarrels she had with her brother whom she loved dearly. She was Katie's secret, despairing weeping. She was the shame of her father staggering home drunk...She was all of these things and of something more...It was something that had been born into her and her only."
After her father's death, Francie and her family's life drastically changes. Francie is forced to quit school and get a job so she can support the family. Her mother does this only because she knows Francie will find a way to go back to school. She is forced to grow up quickly but she does find a way to attend the University of Michigan. She quickly becomes a capable intelligent young woman. During this time she also suffers a broken heart and helps support her mom and the new baby. At the end of the book she looks out a window and sees a girl and a tree growing in the yard. It is a reflection of her life and she sees how strong she has become and that she can do anything. "A new tree had grown from the stump and its trunk had grown along the ground until it reached a place where there were no wash lines above it. Then it had started to grow towards the sky again. Annie, the fir tree, that the Nolans had cherished with waterings and manurings, had long since sickened and died. But this tree in the yard - this tree that men chopped down...this tree that they built a bonfire around, trying to burn up its stump - this tree had lived!"